This invention relates to the disposal and positive verification of the disposal of drugs, and more particularly to the verified disposal of drugs which may be controlled substances, such as, for example, narcotics. Hospitals and medical offices may handle narcotics and other controlled substances. In many cases, a quantity of excess injectable drug remains after the drug has been administered to a patient. Such excess injectables are typically “wasted” preferably in a supervised manner so that the disposal of the drug is witnessed.
Medical professionals and health care workers may come in contact with narcotic agents intended for disposal. Accordingly, medical professionals and health care worker may be tempted to divert a drug for his or her own use or for the monetary rewards that may be gained from diverting a narcotic rather than disposing of the excess drug. Moreover, medical professionals and health care workers would benefit from a means which would verify the proper disposal of excess drugs. Accordingly, a need exists for a safe and reliable means for measuring the quantity of a wasted injectable drug and testing the wasted injectable drug to verify the identity of the drug.
Methods for testing for the presence or absence of drugs are well known. One method of testing for the presence of a drug is to mix a reagent with the substance to be tested, which indicates the presence of a drug by a color change. Commonly known chemical reagents for color change indicia testing for the presence or absence of controlled substance drugs include Meyer's reagent, Marquis reagent, Nitric acid reagents, Cobalt Thiocyanate reagent, Dille-Koppany reagent, Mandeline reagent, Mecke's modified reagent, and Diazepam/Valium reagent. Classes of controlled substance drugs which are detectable through reagent color indicia testing include barbiturates, amphetamines, opiates, and synthetic opiates.
Another testing method employs an absorbent strip impregnated with a reagent which changes color if a particular substance is wicked into the absorbent strip. For example, when the absorbent strip is brought into contact with a narcotic solution, the strip, if designed to indicate the presence of the selected narcotic will change to a color which indicates the presence of that narcotic. A drug disposal and verification device is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,599 by Erdman and Brewer which is incorporated herein by reference as if repeated verbatim hereinafter.